Naruto: the Thundering Storm
by NekomimiOtaku
Summary: With a simple left turn turning into an enlightening encounter with an old man, a young Naruto has been thrust down the path to mastering a unique weapon and using it to achieve his dream of becoming Hokage. Good friends, new relationships, and the same goofy Naruto will change the ninja world one Kunai at a time.
1. The Rumbling Thunder

It's was a beautiful day in the village hidden in the leaves, Konohagure, as the sun shined down on the pleasant market streets filled with people. The Hokage monument towered over the village in a silent vigil. In these peaceful times, the citizens of the great village moved about in relative tranquility. What a pleasant day: the birds sung, the children played, the adults … yelled.

"Get back here you brat!" one merchant yelled.

"You won't get away you little demon!" another screeched out.

More voices joined the ensuing mob as everyone sought to make their exclamations heard. They chased fruitlessly after our young hero. The blonde-haired wonder ran through the streets, keeping ahead of the dwindling mob. They'd never catch him on his turf, his streets.

"You should feel honored, to be pranked by the future Hokage!" he shouted out behind him, turning his head to pull down one eyelid and stick out his tongue.

The chase was over nearly as fast as it had begun, a duck down a dark alley, and a few quick turns and he was home free. Those fat merchants would never out speed him; he was the future Hokage after all. He stopped for a moment to relish his escape before a deep gurgling sensation rippled through his innards. He put on a sour face as he rubbed his stomach in an effort to sooth it.

"Even the future Hokage gets hungry after a hard days pranking!" he exclaimed as he reached into the back pocket of his green shorts to retrieve his frog shaped wallet "Gama-chan".

His expression faltered as he opened the cute cash carrier to a resounding puff of dust and a very empty pouch.

"Ah, that's right, I spent the last of it on all that paint!" he groaned out in disappointment. He wouldn't get his next stipend until the end of the week. He could always swing by Ichiraku's and see if they'd give him a bowl of ramen on tab. He shook his head at the thought, the ramen chef and his daughter were always so nice to him it felt a little guilty to always take advantage of that kindness.

The sun started to set, casting the pink and yellow hues across the sky. The young boy continued his walk down the alley, trying his best not to think about the growling in his guts as he came to a fork as the alley branched left or right. Either way would get him home really, he knew the streets of his home by heart, so which way to go then. It was a simple choice really, left or right, the decision completely unaffecting of his life. If only he knew how important his simple choice really was, for in an infinite many lives he went right and yet in this world by some twist of fate he turned to the left and began to walk. This is where his story truly began.

Our hero continued his walk home along the alleyways and side streets, not wanting to have a run in with any of today's prank victims before they have a few days to vent. The sound of random chatter and the wafting smell of food confirmed his arrival along the back alley of one of the streets dedicated to food stalls and restaurants. A grumbling noise made him reconsider taking this way home; these smells were driving him crazy.

In his state of hunger, it was no surprise when the sight of an open window in the back alley and an unguarded plate full of dango resting on the counter within caught his eye. His growing hunger begged him to investigate and he complied. Moving closer to the window, he spied the insides of a kitchen, the back of one of the food stalls. The rapidly more delicious plate of dango sat unaccompanied on a counter at the window completely within reach. Nobody would miss a single plate of dango right?

With all the stealth he could muster, the boy crept up to the window and tooka quick glance around to ensure his solitude. With a quick gathering of courage, he reached in and snagged the plate.

"Success!" he intoned as he moved to bring the plate out of the window and make off with his catch before a sudden hand swiped in and caught him by the wrist, scaring him into a panic.

"gaahh!" with a startled yell the young boy tried to run but an iron grip on his wrist kept him in place, jerking him back to face his captor. The young boy met eyes with an old man, hair white as snow and a neatly kept beard down to his chest with two green eyes piercing into his own blue orbs.

"I thought I heard a rat trying to sneak into my kitchen but I did not expect it to be so big." The old man's gravelly voice doled out monotone.

"Hey I'm not a rat you old geezer I'm the future Hokage!" the young boy shouted out in agitation, attempting in vain to pull against the man's strong grip.

"So the future Hokage is a thief who steals from old men is he?" the old man stared accusingly.

"So the Hokage just walks about and takes what he likes like a rat?" the old man tightened his grip on the boys wrist.

"Hey! Don't you talk about gramps that way he's nothing like a rat!" the boy retorted with a wince.

"If you proclaim to be his successor then surly you are trying to imitate him, hmm. Why would the future Hokage act in such a lowly manner?" The old man's gaze bored into the boy.

"Because I…" in a fit of anger, the boy started to yell out but the loud rumbling of his stomach interrupted him. Slowly in embarrassment, his hung his head in shame.

"Because I'm hungry and spent all my money like a dummy." The boy groaned out, it was all he could do not to cry at the situation, he promised himself he wouldn't cry anymore.

The old man relaxed his hold on the boy's wrist as his gaze softened.

"There is no shame in being honest, what is your name boy?" he inquired, not that he needed an answer. In all of Konoha there is no mistaking the blonde-haired blue-eyes boy with whisker markings upon his cheeks. The boy raised his gaze to the man's own, tears threatening to break through but held back defiantly.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Of course, the prankster king of Konoha himself, Naruto. A child cursed at birth to be hated and despised by others that would not try to understand him. The villagers called him a demon but the old man knew better, he knew the fear and sadness in that boy's life.

"How old are you Uzumaki?" the old man asked in a far less frightening tone.

"I'm seven this year." Naruto replied, reserved to the fact that he was caught and couldn't get away.

The old man contemplated for a moment, had it already been seven years since that fateful night, when a demon in the shape of a fox with nine tails nearly destroyed the entire village.

"If you're going to be Hokage that means you want to be a ninja." The old man baited.

"Yeah that's right, I'm going to be the best ninja ever and become Hokage. I'm even enrolling two years early and starting this fall; I'll be the best in no time!" Naruto tried to muster his usual bravado but it didn't quite sound the same.

"Why do you want to be Hokage?" the old man questioned, this boy intrigued him, there was something there that he could see, a drive, potential.

"The Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village who protects everyone, when I'm Hokage all the villagers will have to recognize me!" Naruto replied with a little more of his bravado this time, inspired by his own dream once more.

"I see, remember this Uzumaki. Even the Hokage is just one man; he can't do everything on his own strength so he must also rely on the strength of his comrades." The old man slowly let go of Naruto's wrist and pushed his arm gently towards him.

"Even a Hokage needs help sometimes, take the dango. A future Hokage can't grow on an empty stomach." The old man motioned with his hand for Naruto to go.

Naruto stared blankly at the man for a moment, unable to grasp the meaning of the words until they sunk in. he couldn't believe he could just take the dango, this old man was kinder than he thought.

"Thank you!" Naruto enthusiastically shouted as he turned to run off to his home, stopping a few mere steps away as a strange urge hit him, remembering what gramps Hokage taught him about manners. Normally he didn't give a crap about social standing and etiquette, but this old man had done him a big favor, so in an out of character moment he turned back to the window.

"I never got your name gramps." he let out in his usual Narutoish way.

"It's Ikazuchi." The man replied more softly.

"Thank you very much Ikazuchi-ji!" Naruto exclaimed, as he clumsily bowed before turning and sprinting off into the night, munching on his dango.

Old man Ikazuchi watched him go with a slight tug of his lip in a small smirk. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled a wooden pipe to his lips, lighting it with a match, he breathed in deep and let out a slow stream of smoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh? I wonder if you could be the one to take it up, the rumbling thunder heralding the storm of change." Ikazuchi stood there a while in thought before his musings were interrupted by an irate woman's voice back at the storefront.

"You break a hip in there old man? What's taking so long?" Ikazuchi closed his eyes at the sound, he put up with her cause she was his best customer. He let out a snort; she could be so impatient when it came to dango.

"It'll be out in a few minutes, the last batch came out bad, consider it on the house!" he called out in that old man voice of his.

"whoohoo! Free dango!" the yell rung throughout the street.


	2. Thunder and Lightning

Naruto was frustrated, that much could not be denied. He had spent the last week doing everything he could to get a head start for when he entered the ninja academy in the fall. To be fair the list of things he could do was small. He had no idea how to mold chakra so practicing any of that was out; he didn't know any taijutsu so that was out as well. All that left was physical conditioning and throwing practice. Therefore, without fail every day Naruto had woken up thrown on his white shirt and green shorts s and set out to train.

Unfortunately, Naruto had no idea how physical conditioning worked, he would just do what felt right, running around the village, doing pushups and sit-ups every now and then until he got bored. Naruto got bored very fast, so fast you might as well not measure the time. After a few hours of that, he'd go to the academy training ground since no one was around and try his hand at throwing kunai and shuriken. To put it simply, he was abysmal. Naruto had no aim to speak of, even if he did his ignorance in how to throw properly would still keep his attempts at hitting the target to null.

Naruto sprawled out on the training ground panting heavily, several wooden Kunai and Shuriken littering the ground around the training dummies.

"Dammit! Why can't I hit anything! " Naruto let out between ragged breaths, the stamina powerhouse had been at this for most of the day and he'd barely been able to hit the targets.

"What am I doing wrong!" he exclaimed to the heavens.

"At this rate you'll die of old age before you hit anything." and old gravelly voice called out.

Naruto quickly jumped to his feet in surprise to face the voice and found the old man from the dango shop standing at the training ground entrance in a leisurely kimono and a cane at his left hand.

"Izakuchi-ji! What are you doing here?" Naruto hadn't ever expected to see the kind dango man again.

"It's Ikazuchi not Izakuchi, Uzumaki-san." He said flatly. Naruto had the decency to blush as he scratched his head.

"Ah right, Ikazuchi-ji sorry… wait a minute what do you mean I'll die before I hit anything!" he shouted in irritation, it was one thing to know you weren't getting anywhere but another thing entirely to be told that by someone else.

"You have no shortage of spirit, I've watched you exhaust yourself every day without any improvement to show for it, and yet you continue to press on anyway unwilling to give up." Old man Ikazuchi spoke in his gruff but sagely manner.

"However, you are lost and wandering, without direction and guidance you will achieve nothing." He finished, eyes closed in preparation for the inevitable outburst.

"You take that back, I'll hit those targets for sure, you'll see!" Naruto blurted out rather indignantly.

"I'll bet you couldn't even hit one if you had a thousand tries!" he added in hasty defiance.

Ikazuchi sighed. "The pride of the young", as he reached his right hand into the fold of his kimono pulling forth a strange contraption. It was a black hexagonal shaft about two feet long, affixed perpendicular to a grip held firm in his hand, a wide slit along its center forming two mirrored parallel rods. Naruto had never seen such a strange device before. He could make out the shape of a kunai sitting between the two rods, its handle vanishing into the back of the device.

Before Naruto could even think, the old man quickly pointed the strange device at the farthest training dummy from them. Naruto watched on in awe as suddenly, just as the old man had lined up his target, a brief chirping noise echoed as some sparks danced about the twin rods. Both rods lit up in a white glow unleashing a small rumble like thunder as the kunai between the prongs launched out blindingly fast, too fast for Naruto to follow, as it slammed into the target imbedding itself into the dummies head.

Naruto simply stood there, his jaw proverbially on the ground. In his entire life, as short as it was currently, he had never witnesses something so awesome and frightening at the same time. He turned to old man Ikazuchi, face still stuck in its slack-jawed position, a million questions gathered in his hyperactive mind. The old man was still standing there, that amazing weapon pointed at the now impaled target.

"I will not live forever, and I have no heir. If you wish to dedicate yourself to the same path as I, to hold the thunder in your hands and the storm in your soul, then I have found myself a pupil." Ikazuchi-ji's voice was overflowing with a zeal Naruto could not describe; each word was like a beating thunder resonating in his heart. He wanted to know, he wanted to learn.

"We begin now." The old man said with a since of finality as he placed his thunderous weapon back into the fold of his kimono. With a certain slowness he turned about began to leave.

Naruto stood there, watching as old man Ikazuchi's form slowly moved farther away. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and if he didn't move now it was just going to walk away, he had to decide. So with the tightening of his fists and steel in his gaze, he moved.

Like a bolt, he sprang forward, running with all haste to catch up. He slid into step with the old man, bouncing excitedly as his hyperactive mind began to swirl.

"What are you going to teach me first? Am I going to learn some awesome jutsu, or maybe some kick-butt taijutsu? What is that kunai thingy? How does it work?" the questions came one after another in rapid succession. Ikazuchi had almost forgotten the kid's reputation as a "hyperactive knucklehead". He briefly wondered if this would work out, he'd certainly hope so.

"Naruto, one of the many skills you will need to learn and perhaps the most important is patience. Everything will come with time. Once we arrive at my home I will tell you what you need to know." He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, in which he mostly succeeded. If he was going to teach this boy, he would have to have patience as well. Many things had changed since he was a child in the great ninja wars.

He had to admit the child was full of energy; the kid could barely walk a few steps without bouncing about in some way. He wasn't surprised at the unavoidable "how far is it" and "how much longer" and "are we there yet" he was peppered with as they walked. He found himself channeling some chakra to his legs just to get home a little bit faster in hopes of ending the torture. This was why he never took a gennin team back in the day.

He couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him as his home came into view. Things were not going to be dull for the next few years, that was for sure. Finally getting inside he instructed the boy to sit in the chair by the fireplace. Naruto complied immediately, eager to learn awesome kick-butt moves. Ikazuchi pulled out his pipe as he took a seat opposite the boy, gently lighting it with a match before tossing the match onto the already kindled logs of the fireplace.

"So Ikazuchi-ji, what awesome technique are you going to teach me first? Oh oh are you going to teach me how to use that awesome weapon!" Naruto's excitement was ready to explode. The old man took a puff of his pipe to calm his nerves; he had to slow this boy down.

"There are more things to being a ninja than flashy techniques and cool moves Naruto." He began as he brought the aforementioned weapon out from his kimono once more, holding it before the boy.

"This is the Todoroki, a ninja weapon I made in my youth during the first great ninja war. I spent my entire ninja life perfecting its design and mastering its use. Using the principles of nature and a set of specific ninja skills it is capable of launching in quick succession kunai and shuriken at speeds far greater than even the strongest ninja could achieve by hand." It sounded impressive but even with its power and speed it required quite a bit of skill to master, ninja were accustom to high speed combat after all, in some cases even having to dodge lighting. However, his weapon didn't need nearly as much chakra as those techniques and was much more versatile with the right preparations.

"So cool! I can't wait to try It, are we going to do it now? Where are the training dummies? I'm going to master it in no time! " Naruto's bravado was reaching its peak. He could already imagine the Hokage's hat sitting upon his head.

"I'm afraid it will be quite some time before you are even ready to fire it, much less master its secrets. There are many steps you must take first before you can even use It." he tried to stress that point to the boy, he wanted him to understand this would not be easy.

"Aw! Well then let's get started! I'll master all the steps in no time!" Naruto's brief disappointment was quickly overshadowed by his confidence. Ikazuchi took another calming puff of his pipe.

"To properly use this weapon you must master the use of fuinjutsu, nature manipulation, and hone your aim and combat movements. Fuinjutsu is a complex art and not vitally important to getting started, so we will instead focus on your chakra and your physical training." Ikazuchi gently placed the Todoroki on the table beside him as he continued.

"Starting tomorrow you will wake up at six in the morning and come to my dango shop. You will work in my shop until my assistant arrives at noon and then we will walk in silence to this house. Do you understand so far?" he gave Naruto a moment to interrupt, which he did.

"What! Why do I have to work in your shop for?"

"Consider it the price for my tutelage, I have my reasons. If you have a problem with the arrangement you may leave now." Ikazuchi countered in a tone of finality.

"Fine" came Naruto's response to the ultimatum.

"When we arrive here we will start with chakra exercises until I decide it's time for shooting practice. You may have Saturdays off to do as you please."

"But how am I going to practice if I can't use the weapon?"

"Some time ago the Land of Sky developed a device called the Kunai Launcher, no doubt trying to mimic my creation. It pales in comparison but will suffice for the beginning of your training." Ikazuchi hoped that when training started the boy would be a fast learner. He wasn't getting any younger.

Glancing out the window the old man noticed the shadows of the setting sun creeping across his yard.

"Alright Natuto, it's getting late. Go home and be sure to get some sleep, we begin tomorrow."

"Yeah! I'm gonna be Hokage in no time!" if only he knew what was in store for him.


	3. Nine Heavens

Boring, that single word summed up all of Naruto's thoughts of the past six hours. He had arrived at the old man's shop at six, just as Ikazuchi-ji had told him. The sun hadn't even come up yet, what the heck would he even be doing this early. Natuto quickly spied the old man waiting behind the counter for him.

"Yo Ika-ji what do I have to be here so early for? The suns not even up yet!" the boy wasn't afraid to speak his mind.

Naruto would come to wish he had never opened his mouth to begin with. The beginning of his day was filled with the most monotonous of tasks. His job boiled down to one thing, heavy lifting. The young Uzumaki found himself carrying all manner of heavy objects from pots and pans to bags of ingredients all over the kitchen as the old man set about preparing for the day.

Naruto complained nearly every moment his mind could muster but in the end, the old man simply ignored him while he cooked. Naruto quickly found there was no point in complaining if no one cared about his complaints. The boy would soon realize his torment had only begun, as with the opening of the store he was given a new task, cleaning.

Naruto swore he had to have cleaned every inch of the store by the time he was done. Whether it was wiping down counters or doing dishes, the boy's hands were sore and everything ached. He had even cut himself on one of the utensils; it had stung quite a bit. The old man had come at the sound of Naruto's yelp and had even started to help the boy, but when he cleaned off the small amount of blood, he found nothing where the cut should have been. Naruto saw him raise an eyebrow at that but he hadn't said anything at the time. Naruto had no idea just how interested the old man was in that moment.

Naruto thanked any deity that would listen when the assistant arrived. He wasn't sure how he was going to do this every day, but if he wanted to learn the old man's awesome techniques, he would have to endure.

The pair arrived at Ikazuchi's home after a short walk, in which Naruto was reminded that he was to be silent during. The boy didn't understand why he wasn't supposed to talk; he just knew it drove him nuts. Ikazuchi simply couldn't fathom how much energy the boy had to be bouncing about after six hours of work, he supposed youth was just wasted on the young.

The moment they crossed the doorway Naruto was back in full force.

"So what are we doing today, you're gonna teach me how to use chakra like a real ninja, right… right?" his excitement bursting at the seams.

"What happened to being silent Uzumaki-san?" the old man could feel a headache coming on.

"But we're here now right? You only said the walk had to be silent." Naruto's response was filled with childish innocence and irrefutable logic.

"Go take a seat in the living room and we'll begin." Ikazuchi knew this child would be the death of him.

Naruto practically jumped into his seat, bouncing up and down like a puppy getting a treat. Ikazuchi took his time settling into his chair, lighting up his favorite pipe and the fireplace.

"Chakra is the combination of a ninja's physical and spiritual energy, to perform techniques a ninja must focus and mold the two together into chakra which is then shaped into jutsu." A soft exhale of smoke filled the room.

"So how do you do it?" Naruto's inquisitive mind and excitable nature had him at the edge of his seat; he'd be molding chakra in no time. Ikazuchi paused a moment to roll his pipe around his mouth in thought.

"I suppose there's to real way to tell you how than to just keep trying until you get It." the old man finally said.

"What! What kind of teaching is that?" Naruto was a bit stunned at the old man's bluntness.

"Each person's chakra is different in its own way and the feeling of molding chakra is equally different, you shall simply have to focus in meditation and keep trying to pull it out until you feel it." Ikazuchi made the ram hand sign for the boy to see as he spoke.

"This is the ram sign, it is useful for channeling chakra, hold this sign and focus inward. Chakra pools in ones belly so focus there." The old man simply sat back into his chair as his look ushered the boy to start.

Naruto begrudgingly made the ram sign as best he could and closed his eyes. The old man's explanation was barely any help at all! To his credit, he had remained quiet for the first twenty seconds.

"How long does this normally take?" he shot out, eyes screwed up in concentration.

"I couldn't say… stay quiet; you can talk when you manage to get it. Relax your muscles, tightening up isn't going to help you focus. " Ikazuchi graveled out between puffs of smoke.

Naruto tried his best to relax and do as the old man said, but some things were easier said than done. His mind easily wandered from thought to thought, he couldn't help but ask questions. The old man would just tell him to be quiet and keep trying; it was extremely frustrating. Naruto had to stop his foot from tapping on occasion and keeping still was proving a challenge.

Naruto's frustration came to a boil and in a small fit, he tightened up every muscle he could and screwed his face in concentration. Like a mantra he recited it in his head "focus on the belly" over and over until he was almost in a trance, for a brief moment he felt something pull in the pit of his stomach and then he lost it.

"gah!" Naruto let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He had felt something, hadn't he? He had to try again.

"That's enough, we will move on to shooting practice after lunch." The old man's voice was oddly coming from the doorway to another room.

"What? But I haven't gotten anywhere yet!" Naruto jumped to his feet.

"You have been at this for three hours now, which is enough for today. Come, lunch is ready." Ikazuchi left no room for argument.

"I'll get the hang of it tomorrow for sure!" The boy exclaimed as he followed the old man into the dining room.

Naruto took six days to draw upon his chakra, and another two days after that to do it on command. It had been a trying experience for the boy: the work at the dango shop was boring and made his whole body ache, and each day of meditation seemed like hours of wasted time. It was a miracle the boy could even meditate at all, his hyperactive mind just wouldn't let him focus on one thing as his thoughts flew all over the place.

Naruto had leaped into the air in celebration when he'd finally managed to get it right. Ikazuchi had just puffed out a ring of smoke and told him to keep doing it until he could mold it at will. With a since of accomplishment to drive him he'd managed to get the full hang of it only two days later, which was still two days later than he would have liked. Naruto was certainly feeling like a snail on his path to the Hokage's hat.

At least he was making progress in the other area of his training. The first day with the kunai launcher had been horrible, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with how heavy the thing was and how it kicked back every time he let one fly. The old man had just watched in silence until the chamber of kunai was empty, and then told the boy to pick them all up and try again. Apparently, this was an effective training method because Naruto quickly started to improve his aim, as not to have to walk all over the yard every few minutes.

It was only still targets for now, but Naruto found the point and shoot method of the launcher much easier than the regular throwing motions he could never get right. In those eight days, the boy managed to go from hitting air to actually hitting the target on a regular basis. The old man told him once he could make called shots on the target twenty times in a row he would move the target further and start over again. Naruto was nowhere close to that accurate but he was making steady progress, something the old man attributed to his seemingly infinite stamina.

"So… So! Now that I can mold chakra what comes next Ika-ji!" Naruto had just finished demonstrating that he could now mold chakra, in his words, "as easy as breathing". The old man sat for a moment in contemplation.

"Alright Naruto, it's time to move on to the next part." he let out as he began to shuffle through a drawer at his side table.

"Alright! Hokage in no time, I'm telling you!" the boy shouted, fist bumping the air.

"The path ahead is not so easy Naruto, depending on our luck it might just be impossible." The old man groaned out as he held a small slip of paper to the boy.

"This is chakra paper, it is made from a special tree and it will tell us the nature of your chakra." Ikazuchi explained it as best he could as Naruto took the paper in hand.

"Run some chakra through it and its reaction will show the result, we're hoping for crinkling." The old man sat down in his chair, watching the paper intently.

Naruto grinned goofily as he held the paper in between his thumb and finger. He focused in and called up some chakra, and the paper proceeded to split in half.

"Huh, what's this? It just split in half." He tilted his head in confusion. Ikazuchi let out the breath he'd been holding, smoke billowing forth.

"Not just bad luck, the most horrible kind." He droned out, sounding defeated as he laid into the back of the chair.

"What! What does that mean?" Naruto defiantly questioned the old man's words, he didn't like the way that sounded.

"Splitting means wind, you're chakra is wind based. I thought it wouldn't be because wind is rare in Konoha. Wind is strong against lightning, which means the element will not come easy to you at all. It will fight you tooth and nail all the way. It may very well be impossible for you to use the Todoroki." he sighed.

"Hey! I'm the one who's going to be the next Hokage! I can do anything. I'm not going to let some stupid nature stop me after I've come this far so bring it on!" Naruto was burning with a passionate fury. He couldn't stop now; he'd already missed the application date for the academy so this whole year was a total waste if he failed here.

"Ok then Naruto. We will move on to the next exercise. This will not be easy and it will not be quick." The old man reached into the fold of his kimono and produced two metal rods.

"These rods are made specifically for chakra to flow through them, in learning to use the lighting element you will try to make sparks between the two rods. The key to lighting is vibration, the chakra moved back and forth quickly." The rods sparked back and forth, as Ikazuchi demonstrated the exercise.

"You'll see old man! I'll do it for sure!" Naruto excitedly exclaimed.

Even after an entire month, Naruto couldn't even manage a single spark.

"What am I doing wrong!" the pair of chakra rods clang against the ground as Naruto grabs his hair in frustration.

"It's been a whole month and I can't even tell if I'm getting anywhere!" he was starting to feel that creeping darkness that was defeat, it was just like back at the training ground, he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Calm yourself Naruto, one of your biggest problems is concentration. You can hardly stand still at times, you lack focus." Ikazuchi had held hope that the boy could overcome his opposed affinity, but the past moth had been fruitless in that effort. The boy was making leaps and bounds with his shooting but without lighting manipulation the Todoroki would be nothing but a piece of metal in his hands.

"I'm trying! It's just so hard, I try to quiet one thought and ten more take its place! How do you do it?" Naruto was at his wits end, he just couldn't do what the old man was telling him, it seemed hopeless.

"It takes years of dedicated training for a ninja to master his own mind; Konoha was not built in a day. Though I will admit you seem to have more trouble with it than others your age." Ikazuchi rolled his pipe about lazily in thought, was the fox's chakra affecting the boys mind? The seal was far too perfect for that, but perhaps the slow blending of their chakras was over stimulating the brain. The old man stroked his beard as the evidence pieced itself together. He was certain the fox was responsible for the boys advanced healing; perhaps that same phenomenon could affect the brain.

"Well isn't there like a jutsu or something that can help me!" Naruto's random burst was born of aggravation but in that moment, his words made the old man sit stock-still.

"There is." Ikazuchi could not believe he had let the words escape his mouth. The thoughts on his mind were from a darker time, a technique born out of the first shinobi world war. He first thought to dismiss the idea, the technique was known for killing its users after continued use, but perhaps the boys advanced healing would prevent that.

"Really! What is it? Let's do it right now!" Naruto's mind took a one-eighty; he'd just use this technique and be Hokage in no time!

"This technique was developed during the first great shinobi war. Villages needed more ninja on the front lines but didn't have the time to train them properly. Using fuinjutsu the land of Lightning developed a seal that, when activated, would place the user under several layered genjutsus designed to enhance their ninja performance. It produced many capable fighters quickly but after prolonged use, the brain can't take the stress and the user dies. For this reason it is a forbidden technique." Ikazuchi thought that the risk of death would sway the boy's opinion, he was wrong.

"Some seals not going to kill me before I become Hokage! Come on Ikazuchi-ji, can you put it on me. I can take it." Naruto was not going to let this chance go. This thing might be his only chance.

"Tomorrow is your day off, enjoy it and if you still want this come here when the sun sets. You may go home now, there are things I need to do." Ikazuchi could feel his veins freeze as the memories returned, he never thought in all his life he would do this to another human being again. He had hope, this had never been done to a jinchurikki before, and this time would be different. It wasn't a time of war, the first few levels of the seal would be fine for training, even a child's mind could handle that strain if it was given time to rest every now and then.

Naruto left that day with a wave and a promise that he'd definitely be back the next night. Ikazuchi watched him go before going to work, ink in hand and memory still sharp. There would be no going back for this, if anyone found out about this even the Hokage would be hard pressed to spare his life, and he had such short time already.

The next day came and as promised Naruto arrived at nightfall. Old man Ikazuchi waited for him at the front gate.

"I'm here Ika-ji!" the boy did not know the danger he was in, but he knew he wanted this. He needed this to become stronger.

"So you have come Naruto, we will begin immediately. Follow me." The old man's words were slow and measured as he turned to make for the house. With Naruto following after he made his way to the basement, the big open space lit by only a few candles upon the walls. On the ground, covering the entire floor was a seal so complex Naruto could only gape in wonder at it.

"You will need to take off your shirt and quietly sit seiza in the center. Place your palms on those markings there." Ikazuchi gave the instructions with precision and Naruto did his best to follow them. When he was in position, the old man took the ink and brush in hand again and set to work. He began to paint the rest of the seal onto Naruto's flesh, intricate strokes weaving up his arms and onto his back.

"You must remain still while I work. This seal has nine levels of effect; each one requires more chakra to maintain then the last. They must be activated in order but you do not need to activate them all in one go. They are calm, focus, perceive, endure, surpass, enhance, numb, awaken, and enlighten. Calm will quiet the chaos of your mind and suppress panic, focus prevents random thoughts from distracting you, perceive forces your mind to be observant and logical, endure suppresses the effects of pain and fatigue, surpass will unlock your muscle inhibitors and biological regulators…"

"What does that mean?" Naruto couldn't help but interrupt, he was mostly following along but some big words rather confused him.

"Normally we only use thirty percent of our muscles and our bodies work at a stable pace, surpass will make it so you can use all of your muscle and your body will work faster. Enhance unlocks your nervous system regulators allowing you to think and react faster. Numb deadens your emotions and stops you from hesitating, awaken will unlock your chakra regulation, and finally enlighten will combine the effects of all eight to put you in a trance state doing everything in your power to complete your task." Ikazuchi finished the last of the seals at the base of Naruto's neck. He looked over his work quickly to make sure of no errors.

"That sounds awesome Aki-ji, let's do this!" Naruto could hardly keep still any longer his legs were falling asleep.

"Each level is more dangerous to the last and the higher up you go the more damage you do to yourself as well. The ninth level is only to be a last resort, when all else fails. If you use it, your mind will break under the pressure and you will die, even if your body survives, the seal remains active and you will be lost in a mindless state forever. We will stick to the first three levels for your training, anything beyond that is for the danger of real combat." The old man stressed each word so that the boy would understand, even if Naruto didn't have the chakra to use the higher levels now, he would within a few years. One mistake could cost the boy his mind. He began the long string of hand seals.

"Brace yourself, this will hurt. Sealing Art: Nine Heavens Ascending Mind!" With that, the last hand sign fell into place and the room lit up with glowing seals.

Naruto immediately screamed in pain as the entire seal beneath him crawled up him arms and into his neck. The process was excruciating and seemed to go on forever. Finally, the last piece of the seal set into place and the black design set itself into the flesh at the base of his neck. It was the kanji for enlighten in the center with nine rings of seal designs set in a ripple pattern out from it. Each ring had the kanji for its effect upon it, arranged counterclockwise throughout the rings with the outermost ring's kanji sitting just to the left of the spine. Truly, it was a complex work of art. Ikazuchi looked down on Naruto's unconscious form. Only time would tell if his decision was right.


End file.
